Forever Dream
by SeraphJewel
Summary: Kagome must face a hard truth: Inuyasha will only love Kikyo. Meanwhile, Inuyasha must decide who it is he truly loves.


Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And just so you know, Inuyasha/Kagome pairings are the bomb. (Warning: major romancy stuff ahead, so if you don't like romances you should go away) The poem in this story was written by me, just so you know.

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Forever Dream

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Remember this kiss, Inuyasha, for it was real...

He remembered the kiss, all right. He remembered how her lips had felt pressed to his, how he had held her body close. He remembered that even though all he could smell was death, he still held her close. Her lips had been cold as death, her body no warmer, and yet he held her. He had held her before, fifty years ago. She had been warm then; she had smelled differently. But he had been wanting to hold her for so long that he didn't care what she smelled like or how cold she was. Having her in his arms made him very happy, but at the same time he felt like there was something missing.

He felt eyes watching him, and turned to see that it was just Kagome. Her eyes were on him, and she had a hurt expression on her face. He wasn't sure what was making her look at him that way. He tried to offer her a smile but she just kept staring at her. From her expression, it looked like he had just yelled at her, but he had done nothing of the sort. He had just been sitting in a tree thinking about Kikyo. Kagome wouldn't stop looking at him, so he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. He soon really was asleep, dreaming about Kikyo. 

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I never stopped thinking about you, not even for a second!

It had been a long time since Kagome heard those words, but they still echoed in her mind. It hurt to think about them, and yet she couldn't escape from their truth. She went to Inuyasha and saw him staring out with a happy smile on his face. She knew at once that he was thinking about Kikyo. She stared up at the half-demon with a heavy heart. No matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to replace Kikyo in his heart. _But Kikyo's dead, and I'm alive. It's not fair._ Tears of anger and sadness stung her eyes. Inuyasha had chosen to ignore her, which only made her bad mood worse.

She had been foolish to believe she could win the half-demon's heart. There were days where she almost had him, but then he slipped away again back into the embrace of that dead priestess. _She's just a walking corpse. What does he see in her that's not in me?_ She chocked back a sob. He didn't even know how much she cared about him, although her other friends could tell. She clutched the handles of her bike, trying desperately to keep herself from collapsing; her legs felt like jelly under her. 

She had wanted to go back to her own era on more than one occasion because of the constant problems she faced with Inuyasha not loving her, but she stayed because of the Shikkon Jewel. If they ever did get the jewel to be whole again, what would happen to her and Inuyasha? She had a strong suspicion that he would use the jewel's power to revive Kikyo; that knowledge bruised her already wounded heart. Even if she and Inuyasha did end up being together, he would always be seeing Kikyo when he looked at her. Kagome didn't want to be living in another woman's memory, didn't want to be loved because she looked like another.

Inuyasha spent his nights dreaming of Kikyo; Kagome spent hers dreaming of Inuyasha. But as she stared at him, she realized that all this time she had stayed by his side hoping he would change his mind. It was a dream of hers, a fervent wish that she had kept in her heart to keep her happy whenever Inuyasha strayed from her. The hope slipped from her fingers, the wish would never be granted. Inuyasha's heart belonged with a dead priestess and nothing Kagome could do would change that. She could dream forever but the dream wouldn't come true. Inuyasha was not hers, and that was that. It was a hard truth for her to admit.

She dropped her bike and started to run. She had no idea where she was planning to go. All she knew was that she had to run, and far. Sometimes she had woken up crying at night, screaming out his name. But he didn't hear. He slept on peacefully, probably dreaming about Kikyo. Kagome could no longer be near that. She didn't want to be reminded that she couldn't have Inuyasha. She stopped running: she had halted just before tumbling over a tall cliff. She backed away, gazing down its dizzying height. She felt her stomach drop down into her toes.

_If he likes dead women so much, maybe I should die too...,_ she thought. She walked a distance away from the cliff, then took a running leap off. As she fell she screamed out the name of the man she loved, the man that would never love her in return:

"Inuyasha!"

"Kagome?" Inuyasha had woken up in a start. He glanced around but couldn't find the girl anywhere. He sniffed at the air and picked up the scent of tears. Had Kagome been crying? Tears meant she might be hurt. _Hurt! Kagome!_ He stood up and raced off, sniffing her out. His mind raced with worry. How could he have been so careless as to let her wander off without him? If she was hurt, he didn't know what he would do. She was far too important to him for him to lose. He followed her scent to a cliff. He saw her falling to the ground below and nearly felt his heart leap out of his mouth.

"Kagome, no!" He dashed down and caught her in his arms. He landed on the ground, but still he held her in his arms. He was so relieved to have her with him that he was reluctant to let her go. He nuzzled her neck with his nose, then sniffed at her hair. He always loved how her hair smelled.

"Inuyasha..." His eyes were closed and he took deep breaths of her hair. This was the smell he had missed when he held Kikyo in his arms. He felt Kagome slip away from him. He opened his eyes and saw her face was wet with fresh tears. He could see that more tears were starting to form.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"You were thinking of her again," she answered in a quivering voice. "You see her when you look at me, you think of her when you hold me, you dream of her..." She paused and said no more. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I'm going home. I'm not staying here and dealing with unrequited love any longer."

"Kagome, I..."

"Stay away from me, Inuyasha! Don't you think you've hurt me enough?" she shouted. He gave her a wounded look, whimpering like a dog. She just glared at him. He drew close to her. "Sit!" she ordered. He fell flat on the ground. "Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!" All of the sit commands had created a huge Inuyasha-sized crater that he lay sprawled in, unconscious. "There! I'm going home now. I know you really want that dead priestess, so now that I'm gone you're free to go with her. Don't follow me, or I'll use the command again."

"So what happened next?" asked Shippo, rocking on his knees. Inuyasha had been rendered pretty much useless after all of the sit commands. It would take him at least half a day to recover if not more, and the whole time he couldn't stop thinking about what Kagome had said to him. _So that was what was bothering her all this time... She's jealous of Kikyo._ But it wasn't Kikyo that Inuyasha thought about now: it was Kagome. She had been so tolerate of him and with her near he felt almost human. With her, he felt things he had never felt with Kikyo.

"She used 'Sit' on me, stupid," groused the half-demon angrily. "Fourteen times."

"Yikes, she must've been pretty angry," cringed Shippo.

"What did you do to her, Inuyasha?" questioned Miroku.

"It ain't any of your business, monk!"

"I bet it had something to do with Priestess Kikyo," said Sango. The three guys stared at her. "All of us could tell that Kagome really cared about you, Inuyasha. You being occupied with Kikyo didn't make her very happy." Inuyasha was silent, deep in his own thoughts. He was already beginning to miss the smell of Kagome's hair.

"It's the same old problem: Kagome or Kikyo," sighed Miroku. "You've been stalling long enough, Inuyasha. It's finally time for you to decide who you want more. Just think it over. Kikyo is dead; she's pretty much a walking corpse. I doubt she's even capable of love any longer. Then there's Kagome, the girl you've been with for so long and have gone through so much with." Inuyasha said nothing. Miroku stood up, motioning for Sango and Shippo to come with him. "He needs some time alone." They left Inuyasha to himself.

Inuyasha was consumed with thoughts of Kagome. He always felt lonely when she went to her own time period, even if it was only for a few hours. Her parting words had hurt him deeply, and he couldn't get her tearstained face out of his head. His careless actions had hurt her more than any physical blow could. How could he have been so blind that he didn't realize what he was doing to her? He had been blinded by the past, blinded by a memory. _Kikyo is dead; she's pretty much a walking corpse,_ he told himself. He knew as much when he first felt her cold lips on his. He had to let go of the past so he could be with the girl his heart now longed for.

"Kagome... I choose you," he said. It wasn't too late to fix things, to tell her that she was the one he loved and not Kikyo. But would she listen to him? He deserved any hatred she bore him; he had been so stupid, so blind, so stubborn to not see how much she meant to him. "Kagome, once I get better, I'm coming to get you. I'm going to make everything all right, I promise."

Kagome climbed out of the well but didn't bother going anywhere. She leaned against the well and buried her face in her knees. She wept quietly. _I hope he'll be happy with her,_ she thought. _It hurts that I can't be his, but I guess I should've known it would never work out._ She should have seen it coming, but she was too blind with love. She was such a fool to not see it, to not realize she could never win Inuyasha's love. It would've been so much easier if she had died. Living hurt so badly, and she felt alone without Inuyasha close by.

_Forever dream_

Dreaming of you

One day you may love me

See me as I am

That is my forever dream

_At night I think of you_

Your eyes look into mine

You whisper my name

Loving only me

That is my forever dream

_No one between us_

Making our own memories

Gentle words and tender hands

Your heart for me

That is my forever dream

Inuyasha was beginning to miss Kagome desperately. His heart ached as the days wore on and she did not return from her era. He hated being separated from her for so long, especially now that he had finally admitted to himself that he loved her. He longed to bury his nose in her hair again, to hold her body in his arms. _What was I thinking, letting her get away from me? Just how stupid am I, anyway?_ He had attempted to get to her, but he was still out of commission from her sit commands. He moaned and clawed at the ground. If he didn't recover soon and get Kagome back to him, he was afraid he might go crazy.

"Kagome... Kagome..." That was all he could say now, since that was the only thing on his mind. His friends had done all they could to cheer him up, but they all knew the only thing that would make him happy now was Kagome. They volunteered to try and get her back for him but he insisted on being the one to do it. His body sped up his recovery so he could be with her sooner. He dreamt of her every time he fell asleep, and she was in her daydreams as well.

When he finally recovered, it was night. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were fast asleep. Inuyasha quietly slipped past them and headed for the magic well. He had to hold his breath to make sure they didn't arouse. The very last thing he needed was the three of them slowing him down. He made it to the well and placed his hands on the cold stone. He sniffed the air; Kagome had definitely been here. He smiled at her familiar scent. 

"I'm coming, Kagome," he whispered, jumping into the well.

_Forever dream_

Dreaming of you

One day you may forgive me

Never leave my side

That is my forever dream

_At night I think of you_

Your head on my chest

You snuggle in my arms

I kiss you

That is my forever dream

_No one between us_

Only you in my heart

Letting my defenses fall

Your heart for me

That is my forever dream 

Inuyasha climbed out of the well and found Kagome sitting with her back against it, crying softly. He stared at the woman he loved for a long time without saying a word. After being so long without her, he was content just to stare. He longed to speak, to hold her in his arms, to smell her hair, to tell her how dearly she was loved by him, but he stayed silent. He couldn't stand to watch her crying any longer knowing that he was the cause, and gently put his hand on her shoulder. She rose to her feet at once and stared at him in surprise.

"Inuyasha?" He had had things he planned to say to her, but none of them seemed to want to come out. He put his arms around her and placed a loving and tender kiss on her lips. He felt her relax in his arms and she clung to his clothes, returning the kiss with equal love. He broke the kiss and buried his nose in her hair, snuffling her like a dog.

"Never leave me again," he said.

"Inuyasha, I..."

"I'm sorry," he interrupted. "Please come back to me. I need you with me." She pushed away from him.

"Are you sure it's not Kikyo you need?"

"I need _you_, Kagome," he answered. "Why else would I be here?" He had her in his arms again. "I love you," he whispered in her ear. Her heart skipped a beat. She had dreamed of him saying those words for so long, and she wondered if this was a dream as well. _No. This is the real thing. I can't believe it! He finally loves me!_

"And it's just me you love, Inuyasha?"

"Only you," he confirmed.

"I love you, Inuyasha," she murmured. He smiled, and gave her lips another loving kiss. She put her arms around his neck and allowed his strong arms to hold her close.

_Forever dream_

Dreaming of you forever

Forever dream

Loving you forever

To be together

That is our forever dream

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The End 


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